Archives for November 2014

Joint Society Letter to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Posted November 18, 2014 by Todd Pierson

–Joint Society Letter to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service–

The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the Herpetologists’ League, and the Canadian Herpetological Society have submitted a joint letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in response to recent discoveries that Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans could have a significant effect upon some North American salamander species.

That letter is here: Letter to USFWS

For more information, you can also read an op-ed in the New York Times by Karen Lips and Joe Mendelson or the recent study published in Science.

New Species of Large Pit-Viper Discovered in The Himalaya

Posted November 13, 2014 by Kai Wang

Pit-vipers of the genus Protobothrops distribute in East and Southeast Asia, and many species live in mountain areas with high elevations. Recently, a new species of genus was discovered along the Himalaya Mountain Ranges in southern Tibet, China and Sikkim, India in 2012. The new species, Protobothrops himalayanus, was named after its type locality, the Himalayas Mountain Ranges. It can be diagnosed from its congeners by the combination of large body size (reaching up to 1.5mm in total length), distinct scale counts (dorsal sacles 25-25-19, subcaudal scales 65-76, supralabials scales 7-8, and infralabials scales 11-13), and its unique color patterns.

Despite the recent discovery, herpetologists have very little information regarding the snake’s ecology, behavior, distribution range, and population size. With the potential threats posted by habitat degradation, population assessments of the species are urgent and conservation efforts need to be made accordingly soon.

Photographs by Zhang Liang from South China Institute of Endangered Animals.

Reference:

Pan H., Chettri B., Yang D., Jiang K., Wang K., Zhang L., and Vogel G. 2013. A new species of the genus Protobothrops (Squamata: Viperidae) from Southern Tibet, China and Sikkim India. Asian Herpetological Research, 4(2): 109-115.

M.Sc. positions available Spring and Fall 2015

Posted November 13, 2014 by Farallo, Vincent

The Department of Biology at John Carroll University is seeking applicants for our Master of Science program (TWO for Spring 2015 and several for Fall 2015). We are a research-active department that advises students in a diversity of areas (e.g., systematics, ethology, physiology, anatomy, chemical ecology and cell & molecular biology) but that emphasizes the role of evolution as an organizing principle of biology. We have an excellent record of generating publications with our Master’s students, and of placing students into excellent PhD programs after completion of their MS degrees. We will consider applications for these positions until they fill.

These funded positions will require 20 hours/week of work as a graduate teaching assistant within labs that are being taught, in exchange for a tuition waiver and modest nine-month stipend.

Information about our department:

http://sites.jcu.edu/biology/

Information about our faculty and the research that they conduct:

Review this list of faculty to identify a laboratory to which you’d like to apply.
http://sites.jcu.edu/biology/pages/faculty-and-staff/

Information about our graduate programs:

http://sites.jcu.edu/biology/pages/programs-of-study/graduate-2/

Application deadline for Spring 2015 positions:

Applications will be reviewed until these positions are filled.

Application process:
http://sites.jcu.edu/biology/pages/programs-of-study/graduate-2/application-process-and-deadlines/

Questions about the application process, contact:

Dr. Christopher Sheil
Professor, Graduate Coordinator
Department of Biology
John Carroll University
20700 North Park Boulevard
University Heights, OH 44118
Email: csheil@jcu.edu
Phone: 216.397.3088